


Drops of Metro In Her Hair

by FLUDDCappy (SansTheBee)



Category: Cartoons - Fandom, cecile and her very own universe, fablevision, lost media, nick jr, nickelodeon - Fandom, noggin
Genre: F/F, Far Future, Female Lead, Future, Outer Space, Sci-Fi, cartoon, cartoons, crossposted to fanfiction.net, evil emperors, lost media - Freeform, nick jr - Freeform, nickelodeon, noggin - Freeform, space, year 3000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23324935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansTheBee/pseuds/FLUDDCappy
Summary: A fanfiction based on the lost cartoon pilot Cecile and Her Very Own Universe. Cecile is a 12 year old girl who lives underground in the sprawling city of Metro. Everyone is digging to the center of the planet by the orders of The Grand Emperor. However, Cecile wonders why this is...and more importantly why no one is allowed on the surface.
Relationships: cecile - Relationship





	1. Chapter 1

**Hello there and Welcome to the first (and currently only)** **_Cecile And Her Very Own Universe_ ** **Fanfiction! What is** **_Cecile and Her Very Own Universe_ ** **you may ask? Well, it’s a lost six minute cartoon pilot that aired on Noggin’s** **_The Url With Phred Show_ ** **a few times during July of 2001. The pilot sadly was never picked up into a series on Noggin (Which may be due to the fact that internally they were shifting to become an all pre school channel the following year in 2002). The pilot was not resurfaced since 2001, and the only things that have been found are a couple of screenshots, promo images, a promo image using concept art, and a clip found in an old Demo Reel by the company who made** **_Cecile and Her Very Own Universe,_ ** **Fablevision. The description they have provided reads as follows:**

  
  


**_"A cartoon heroine for the new millennium, Cecile is a 12-year-old girl living in the huge, sprawling underground future world of Metro. She has a bionic arm, a canine computerized companion, and a secret. While everyone else is busy digging to the center of the giant planet, Cecile is doing the opposite. They don't know that she has a life "on the surface" where her curiosity leads her again and again. What she learns there lies at the heart of this unusual series, and her private diaries posted on Noggin.com will provide an intimate glimpse into her thoughts and feelings, and hopefully inspire viewers to chronicle their own thoughts and experiences. While tapping into kids' natural passion for science fiction, the series is designed to model the joy of discovery, exploration, and curiosity through a young girl's insatiable appetite for learning. Cecile generates her own questions, investigates the unknown, and joyfully shares her discoveries with others. Her character embodies a never-ending delight for learning."_ **

  
  


**Not much else is known besides this. Why are they digging? Why is Cecile the only one who goes to the surface?**

**I am using creative liberties, along with a lot of guessing (and just writing what I want honestly) to tell the story of** **_Cecile and Her Very Own Universe._ ** **I am also hoping that this can spark a discussion about** **_Cecile and Her Very Own Universe_ ** **and possibly lead to it being found.**

**As of the time writing this, I have emailed Fablevision asking if I am able to purchase the pilot either digitally or physically. I haven’t heard back from them, but I’m hopeful.**

**I hope you’ll consider joining in the hunt to look for** **_Cecile and Her Very Own Universe._ **

  
[ **Here's a guide if you want to help** ](https://fluddcappy.tumblr.com/CecileGuide)   
  
  
  
  
**Also check out my Tumblr For more projects:[Fluddcappy.tumblr.com](Fluddcappy.tumblr.com)**

**Bonus** **_Drops of Metro in Her Hair_ ** **soundtrack listing:**

Drops of Jupiter by Train 

Dig by Incubus

Anti Gravity by Starset

Fireflies by Owl City

Idealism Lonely by Chilled Cow

The Mountain by Three Days Grace

Master of The Universe by Sick Puppies

Dark on Me by Starset

Pardon Me by Incubus

Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park

Words as Weapons by Seether

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Telescope by Starset

The Eye of Truth by Driver

Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

I am Machine by Three Days Grace

Drive by Incubus

Duck and Run by 3 Doors Down

  
  
  


But .. Why?”

“But why what?” Chuck asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Why are we digging?” The little girl asked, her voice full of curiosity.

Chuck groaned and rolled his eyes. “Cecile,just … just don’t think about it too much, okay? Just follow what your group leader says. All right?”

  
  


Cecile frowned. “But, why?”

He sighed again, this time deeper. “Look, I don’t have time for this.” 

He grabbed her hand firmly and dragged her towards the group of other children forming near a small hole, well as small as a hole in the middle of a huge hundred foot crater could be.

Cecile clung tighter to Chuck’s arm and hid behind him. He groaned as he slightly nudged her off. 

“Cecile, just go over there.” He said.

“But,but ...”

Chuck knelt down to her level and tried to soften his voice a bit, “I’ll be back later, okay?”

Cecile frowned as he pulled away. She looked at the group which consisted of kids about her age, some slightly older, and an adult holding onto a technified shovel. Off to the sides were seven robotic dogs guarding the area.

Cecile took a deep breath before heading over to them.

The group leader looked up when she saw Cecile approach. “Oh, you must be the last new student. Cecile, yes?”

Cecile looked at the ground anxiously before turning back to her. She nodded slightly before fidgeting with her hands.

The group leader gave a small, thin smile before directing her towards a smaller sub group.

Cecile stood beside another girl who had strawberry red hair and freckles scattered across her cheeks.

“Hi! I’m Beverly!” She greeted Cecile cheerfully..

“H … hello.” Cecile squeaked back in reply.

“What’s your name?” Beverly asked.

“C .. Cecile.”

“Aren’t you excited to start digging, Cecile!?” She asked, nearly jumping in excitement.

“I .. I guess so.”

Beverly stopped jumping and blinked. “You guess so?”

“I .. I don’t know.” Cecile said, avoiding eye contact. “I’m just…I don’t know…I just don’t ... get it.”

“Get what?” Beverly wrinkled her nose slightly.

“Why do we have to dig?” Cecile continued. 

Beverly shrugged. “I dunno, because they told us we’re supposed to.”

“But…”

“Welcome new students!” The leader spoke up, calling them all to attention. “You have reached the pinnacle of your lives! As many others before you, you are about to embark on your digging destiny! You stand here today with all the others who made it to age of seven successfully, and thus are ready to join _The Junior Digging Brigade_. I know you’ll do Metro proud!” She turned to a pile of more, smaller, shovels that looked a lot more dull compared to the leaders’.“Now, I’ll pass out the shovels and we can get started.”

“Um I .. I have a question.” Cecile spoke up shakily.

The leader turned to her. “Yes? What is it, young one?”

“Why are we digging?” Cecile asked.

“Because The Grand Emperor demands it.” She explained.

“But… _why_?” 

One of The Emperor’s guard dogs let out a deep snarl, causing Cecile to yelp slightly, and look back down at her feet.

The Leader paused for a moment, before exhaling harshly, and looking Cecile in the eyes with the same forced, thin, smile as earlier. “We don’t question the commands of The Grand Emperor. He does what is best for all of us.” She picked up one of the shovels and forced it into Cecile’s hands. 

She went back to the front of the others. “Now everyone grab a shovel and we can begin!”


	2. Chapter 2

Exhausted, and covered in dirt, Cecile sat down at the edge of the crater the group had just barely made a dent in. She wiped her brow and breathed heavily.

Beverly plopped down next to her, resting her shovel on her legs, and idly kicking her feet back and forth. “Hey! Wasn’t today great!?”

“Huh?” Cecile looked over. “Oh uh, yeah … it … it was fine …”

Beverly pouted slightly. “Oh come on, Cecile! Digging was amazing!”

Cecile stroked her hand against the handle of the shovel, as Beverly kept speaking.

“... And when we’re ten we’ll get shovels made of bismuth like mommy and daddy have!” She pulled the shovel closer to her chest. “I like my shovel though. I don’t wanna get rid of it! Do you think I can keep it? I wanna use it when I’m ten too!”

Cecile examined her shovel. The metallic covering was already peeling off the spade and handle. When she looked up again she saw Chuck, waiting with the parents of the other children.

“Oh uh … I have to go.” Cecile said, getting up.

“Oh okay! I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Beverly asked.

Cecile nodded, putting her shovel on the ground, and heading over to Chuck. Like her, he was sweaty, and his clothes stained with dirt. Over his shoulder he held the bismuth shovel Beverly had mentioned. Cecile hadn’t really bothered to look at Chuck’s shovel before; while there was a rainbow sheen to it, the color seemed to be faded under the caked on dirt.

“You ready to go?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah.” Cecile said as she started following him.

The guard dogs let out a slight snarl as Cecile passed by them. She shivered slightly and tried to keep up pace with her older brother.

“So how was your first day of digging?” Chuck asked.

“It was okay.” Cecile said.

“Ah, I was a little unsure after my first dig too.” Chuck said. “But trust me, by tomorrow, you’ll be all about digging.”

“Right … right ...” Cecile said.  _ I sure hope you’re right... _

  
  


“My dear student, would you care to explain this?” The Leader asked, holding a shovel in front of Cecile. 

“A …. shovel?” She asked, confused.

The Leader pursed her lips as she pushed it into Cecile’s hands. “Look familiar?”

Cecile looked at it: The handle and the spade were scuffed up and it was quite dirty.

“It’s  _ your  _ shovel.” The Leader said. “You left it here yesterday.”

“Oh.” Cecile tightened her grip on it. “Was I not supposed to?”

“No.” The leader said, as if it were self explanatory. “Your shovel is your most valuable tool. You treat it with respect. It’s an extension of you, not just a piece of waste for you to throw around wherever you please! Got it?”

Cecile’s eyes watered as The Leader continued her scolding, “You  _ will  _ take your shovel home with you every night and keep it clean and pristine! Do you understand?!”

“Y..yes m..ma’m.” Cecile sniffled as her knees started to wobble.

“Good.” She said, forcing another one of her grins. “The dig will start soon, so you better get in place.”

Cecile nodded silently and headed over to the crater from yesterday, trying her best not to start crying. The guard dogs stood alert, standing in a single file line, examining the kids as they filtered in. 

Cecile made the mistake of making eye contact with one, The dog huffed and let out a low growl. 

Cecile let out a small squeak before looking at the crater again. The dirt was basically scraped off the top layer from yesterday’s dig, just barely showing the fresh dirt beneath.

Beverly stood by Cecile and smiled widely. “Hey! You got your shovel back!”

“Huh?”

“Your shovel.” She said, pointing to it.

“Oh…yeah, I did..” Cecile said.

“You forgot it here yesterday so I gave it to Miss Leader.” Beverly beamed proudly. 

“Oh.” Cecile said. Her eyes wandered over to Beverly’s shovel. It was much cleaner than it was yesterday. The whole thing sparkled brightly, even in the limited underground light. When she looked at everyone else’s she noticed they were about the same, almost brand new looking.

She looked back at hers. Still dirty.

The Leader stepped towards the front of the group and cleared her throat. “Class!”

The children obediently looked up.

“Before we start, I’d like to remind you of the importance of your shovel.” She said, pursing her lips. “It’s of the utmost importance that you take proper care of it.” Her eyes wandered over to Cecile for a moment, before looking back at the whole class. “Make sure it’s clean and properly ready for use the next day. Do you all understand?”

“Yes, Miss Leader!” They all said in unison.

“Y...y...yes Miss...Miss Leader..” Cecile felt tears well in her eyes as she gripped onto the shovel tightly.

“Good. Now, let us begin today’s dig!” The Leader said.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Cecile sat on the ground in front of a small plastic tub of water in the middle of her Designated Family Unit.

She gently placed her shovel in it, sumberging it under the soapy water. Taking a sponge in her hand, Cecile scrubbed away at the dirt, turning the water a deep brown color.

Cecile pulled the shovel out of the water and dried it off with a towel. She placed it on the ground and looked at it; the spade was still chipping away and had stubborn pieces of dirt still clinging in place.

  
  


Cecile sighed as she placed it on the table, and headed to bed.

  
  
  


Cecile panted as she dug into the crater. Next to her Beverly was going steadily, in rhythm with all the others.

“All right class! We’re done for the day!” The Leader said.

This was met by sad whines and whimpers from the group.

“Don’t be sad little workers.” She said, grinning. “Tomorrow will be a brand new day for digging!”

They cheered happily as they exited the crater, and headed over to their parents. Cecile looked over and saw her brother wasn’t there yet, so she sat at the edge of the crater and looked into it. 

They had made a lot more progress since the first day, now nearing the third layer of dirt. Cecile was about to put her shovel on the ground, but opted to place it in her lap instead.

“Hey, Cecile!?”

Cecile looked up to see Beverly, standing with her shovel over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna come to my Designated Family Area and dig with me, mommy, and daddy?” She asked.

“I’m good.” Cecile said, scraping a piece of the dirt off of the shovel. “I have to wait for Chuck anyway.”

“Want me to wait with you?” Beverly asked.

“Sure.” Cecile said as Beverly sat beside her.

“Hey Cecile? Can I ask you something?” Beverly asked.

“Sure.”

“Do you like digging?”

“Not...really…” Cecile said, a bit anxiously.

“Why not? Digging’s great!” Beverly said. “Flinging all that dirt around! Making The Grand Emperor happy! Making mommy and daddy happy! What’s not to love!?”

“I..I don’t know.” Cecile said. “I guess I just don’t get it.”

“Get what?” Beverly gripped Cecile’s shoulder. “C’mon Cecile it’s really fun! Just give it a chance!”

“I guess I can try.” Cecile said, shrugging slightly.

“Yay!” Beverly sounded excited, pulling Cecile into a tight hug. “Does that mean you wanna join our dig?”

Cecile shook her head. “I can’t. I gotta clean my shovel and help Chuck make dinner.”

“Oh okay.” Beverly frowned for a second before smiling again. “We can dig together tomorrow right?”

“With your family?”

“No, here.” Beverly clarified.

“Oh...yeah.” Cecile said.

“And I can show you how fun digging really is!” Beverly giggled.

“Okay…” Cecile said, forcing a small smile. She looked over and saw her brother. “Oh, I gotta go. See you tomorrow.”

“See ya tomorrow, digging buddy!”


	4. Chapter 4

Cecile spent extra time cleaning her shovel that night. Once the water in the cleaning bin grew dirty, she emptied it out and replaced the water. She took the towel and scrubbed it down until her hands were raw.

She swaddled the shovel in a towel and held it like a baby. “There, you look a lot better now!” 

She placed it down and looked at her now numb hands and saw they were red and pruned. She sighed and dried her hands. Once the shovel was dry she unwrapped it and headed to bed.

  
  
  


“Oh! Oh this is the best part!” Beverly exclaimed as she pushed the shovel head into the dirt. 

“Getting a big chunk of dirt and just…” She pushed down before flinging a big pile of dirt behind her. “Fling it!”

Cecile dug her shovel into the dirt and tried to fling it back. The dirt fell back onto the crater instead, and she blushed a deep red in embarrassment. 

“It’s okay, try again!” Beverly said.

Cecile pushed the spade into the ground, going as deep as she could. She pulled the dirt up with a groan and flung it ... right into Beverly’s face.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Cecile said, panicked.    
  


Beverly spit out the dirt and wiped her cheek off with her sleeve. “It’s okay! Part of the fun is getting dirty!”

Cecile still felt guilt twisting in her stomach. “Are you sure?”

“Of course! Here, let me show you!” Beverly said, grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it at Cecile.

“Hey!” Cecile giggled, shielding her face. She stumbled over her shovel and landed on her bottom.

Beverly smiled and grabbed more dirt. “I’m not done yet!”

Cecile laughed more as Beverly threw chunks of dirt at her. Finally when Cecile had a chance to retaliate she grabbed some dirt herself as she threw it at her. “Got’cha!”

Beverly laughed as she plopped down next to Cecile in the dirt. 

“You’ll never beat me!” She sneered playfully.

“Oh yeah?” Cecile giggled, sitting up and grabbing another pile of dirt in her hands. As she threw it, Beverly ducked out of the way and tackled her playfully.

“Nope! Can’t get me!” She teased.

“You’re right Beverly! This  _ is _ fun!”

“Girls!” A voice screeched.

They both stopped and looked up with wide eyes at Miss Leader.

“Both of you against the wall, now!” She snapped.

Sheepishly the two of them got out of the dig site as the others giggled and gossiped with each other, only stopping after getting a glare from their leader.

They pressed their backs against the wall, both blushing in embarrassment, as the guard dogs looked in their direction, snarling in disgust.

The Leader stood in front of them, frowning intensely. “You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Digging is a vital task to Metro, and you two are making a complete mockery of it! You two will sit here and think about how your disruption has affected everyone.”

When The Leader turned away, Beverly started whimpering and tearing up. 

Cecile turned towards her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“N … no it’s n...not…” Beverly stuttered out. “We were bad! We … we made Miss Leader mad and The ...The Grand Emperor is gonna be sad!”

“Why was what we did bad?” Cecile asked.

“We didn’t dig! We played!” She sniffled loudly.

“Why can’t we play?” Cecile asked

“Because we need to dig!” Beverly said.

“But...why?”

“Why do you keep asking that!?” Beverly started sobbing and held onto her knees. 

  
  


Cecile frowned and pulled Beverly into a tight hug. “I’m sorry.”

Beverly looked up with teary eyes and sniffled again. Cecile wiped her tears and pulled her into another hug. “Please don’t be sad.”

“I’m a bad digger.” She whined into Cecile’s chest.

“You’re not bad!” Cecile protested, pulling back and looking her in the eyes. “You’re the best digger I’ve ever seen!”

“R...Really?” Beverly asked, wiping a tear away with the back of her hand.

Cecile nodded. “And Miss Leader doesn’t know that she just sent Metro’s greatest digger to time out! She isn’t scary, just...mean...okay?”

“O...okay.” Beverly sniffled.

Cecile pulled her into a hug again, letting Beverly relax. While she patted her back gently, she looked around and saw the guard dogs, still glaring the two down.

Cecile looked at one in the eyes and looked at him curiously. The dog let out an annoyed huff and he continued to look at her.

“Hey.” Cecile whispered to Beverly.

“What?” Beverly asked.

“I bet these robot guard dogs aren’t too scary either.” Cecile teased.

Beverly giggled softly. “Yeah, dumb ol’ dogs!”

Cecile and Beverly looked up at one of the guard dogs. He stared them down, firmly holding his ground.

“Hey I have an idea.” Cecile whispered to Beverly. “Watch this.”

She turned towards the dog, grabbing the side of her mouth, and making a silly noise. The dog’s eyes widened before he let out a low growl.

Beverly giggled as Cecile kept making funny faces at the guard dog. He arched his back as the growl grew even lower.

“Keep going, keep going.” Beverly giggled.

Cecile widened her eyes at the dog and mouthed at him as if she were a fish. 

The dog pounced forward and tackled Cecile to the ground, letting out a loud roar in her face. 

Cecile screamed in fear as she tried to push him back. Beverly pulled back, letting out an ear piercing yell of her own.

The class and The Leader immediately looked over.

“Get off me! Get off me!” Cecile yelled, pushing onto the dog’s chest. Once her arm made contact with him, he turned his head and sunk his teeth into her arm.

Cecile screeched as she flailed around, trying in vain to get the dog to release her. The dog deepened his bite.

“Cecile!” Beverly called out, reaching towards her.

All the yelling and panic faded into white noise as Cecile lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Cecile groggily opened her eyes and let out a small groan as her eyes regained focus. She squinted against the harsh bright light in the room as she tried to make sense of where she was. 

She looked around the room, noticing a cart full of various medical supplies such as syringes, a bloodied knife, and gloves resting on top of them.

Her eyes landed on the floor, where instead of the usual rock flooring, it was padded.

As the light continued to beam down, Cecile squeezed her eyes shut. Not satisfied with this she tried to grab a pillow to cover her eyes with. However her arm jerked slightly when she tried to grab it, as if it were latched onto something.

Cecile looked down at her arms. Her non injured arm had an IV in, while her other arm laid limply by her side. Cecile tried to move the fingers on her injured arm, but let out a grunt of pain when she tried to.

“Cecile!”

“Chuck?” Cecile asked, groggily. 

Chuck rushed over and pulled his little sister into a tight hug, tears welling up in his eyes. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Where ... where am I?” Cecile asked.

“You’re in the medical bay.” Chuck explained, gently stroking her hair. “You got attacked by one of The Grand Emperor’s guard dogs.”

“Guard dog…..” Cecile whimpered.

“It’s okay.” Chuck reassured, pulling her closer. “You’ll be okay.”

“My arm hurts.” Cecile sniffled.

“You got bit pretty badly.” Chuck explained, frowning. 

“It hurts!” She whined again. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” Chuck reassured her. “It’s okay…”

“I can’t move my fingers.” She sniffled.

Chuck frowned deeply. “I know...the nerves in your arm are really hurt.”

“Will they be okay?” 

No answer.

“Chuck?” She whimpered.

“We...we don’t know yet.” Chuck said softly. “They’re going to keep an eye on it and see if it gets better.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Cecile whimpered. 

“They...they’d have to amputate it.” He managed to say.

“Amupu .. what it?” Cecile asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Amputate ... cut it off …” Chuck winced as he said this.

Cecile’s eyes widened in horror as she started to tear up again. 

Chuck pulled her into a tight hug and stroked her hair and back gently. “I’m sorry Cecile, but I promise everything will be okay.”

Cecile sobbed into his chest for a while as Chuck comforted her, soon turning into just whimpers, and finally silence as she fell asleep.

  
  
  


Cecile woke to a loud buzzing noise and groaned tiredly as the screen above the bed lit up. On the screen The Grand Emperor appeared, bringing both Chuck and Cecile to attention.

  
  


“My dear citizens.” The Emperor spoke solemnly. “There was a terrible tragedy today. One of the many robotic dogs that guard the great planet of Metro, has injured a young girl. Young Cecile of sector B.”

Cecile whined and hid her face under the covers. Chuck grabbed the covers and ripped them out of her hands, before grabbing her cheek and making her look at the screen.

“Such behavior is disgraceful in the empire.” He continued. “Harming others is never allowed. Thus, it is with great sorrow that we will be executing the guard dog in question, serial code q8r5F tonight.”

Cecile reached for the covers again, but Chuck hit her hand again. “Cecile, you need to watch.”

Cecile looked at the screen hesitantly as the scene changed to the guard dog. He let out a small whimper as his knees buckled and shook, causing a metallic sound to echo all around.

The Emperor faced the dog and sneered. “Does the criminal have any final words?”

The guard dog let out a pleading yelp, looking up at him in terror. The Emperor pursed his lips and looked down at him. “I must say, that was quite poetic.”

Chuck burst out laughing, and Cecile looked at him in a stunned confusion. He frowned, “Cecile, you need to laugh.”

“But, I didn’t find it funny.” Cecile said.

“Laugh.” Chuck commanded.

Cecile let out a small whimper before she forced a small, quick, dry laugh and put her eyes back on the screen.

The Emperor lead the guard dog onto a small wooden platform. He grabbed four metal shackles and tied them to each of the dog’s legs.

The dog whined again as he rustled against the chains.

“Don’t struggle criminal!” The Emperor spat. “You are a stain on the reputation of our advanced security here on Metro. You knew the punishment for hurting one of Metro’s citizens, and well… here we are.”

He picked up a shovel of his own, crafted from platinum. As he lifted it above his head, the guard dog flinched as he pelted him with the shovel.

Cecile flinched, facing away until Chuck forced her view back to the screen, right as the shovel caused an explosion of sparks and oil.

“Ch..Chuck…” Cecile whimpered, trying to get out of his grasp. “I don’t wanna watch anymore!”

Chuck kept his firm grip on her chin. Cecile clamped her eyes shut until the sounds died down and she slowly opened them again. 

The Emperor was wiping the oil off his shovel with a fine rag as he spoke, “Justice has been restored to Metro. Have a good evening citizens of Metro, and remember,...keep digging.”

The screen turned off as Chuck let go of Cecile. She let out some deep breaths as she started to cry again.

“Cecile, it’s okay.” Chuck reassured, patting her back. “It’s over now.”

Cecile sniffled as she put her face into her pillow and gripped it tightly. She shook and whined until she passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

Cecile woke up to a tap on her shoulder. The doctor was standing over her, giving her a small, gentle smile. Her eyes glanced over to the side, and she was relieved Chuck was still sitting there.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor asked gently.

“My arm hurts.” Cecile groaned.

“I know it does.” She said, frowning. 

“Is it going to get better?” Cecile sniffled.

“We don’t know yet..” The doctor said, “But we’ll keep an eye on it.”

“Okay…” Cecile said, nervously.

The doctor paused for a moment before she spoke up again, “Oh, right, we have something for you.”

“You do?” Cecile asked, managing to sound a little bit excited.

“The Grand Emperor felt terrible about what happened to you, so he sent you something to assist you, because of your injury.” She explained.

“What is it?” Cecile asked.

“Wait here for a second.” She said, leaving the room.

Cecile turned to Chuck. “Do you know what it is?”

Chuck shrugged. “I dunno, this is my first time hearing about this too.”

The doctor came back in moments later holding a robotic dog in her arms. 

Cecile gasped as she grabbed for her blanket to hide her face.

The doctor frowned. “No, no it’s okay, I promise. This isn’t a guard dog, it’s a service dog.”

Cecile pulled the blanket down. “A...service dog?”

The doctor smiled slightly. “That’s right. He’s here to help you with things you can’t do with your injured arm.”

She set the dog on the foot of the bed and Cecile looked at him

He whimpered a little bit as he took in his surroundings, shaking slightly.

Cecile pulled the blanket back up and shivered even more. “He...he looks like a guard dog....”

“I can assure you he’s not one of them.” The doctor continued. 

“Can...can you take him away, please?” Cecile whined, tightening her grip on the sheet. 

“Certainly not!” The doctor said, looking offended. “He was a gift to you from The Grand Emperor, young lady! You should show more gratitude!”

“I’m..I’m sorry…” Cecile squeaked out.

“You certainly should be.” The doctor huffed before leaving the room.

“You better hope she doesn’t report you for that.” Chuck said, sounding peeved himself.

“I’m...I’m sorry…” Cecile whimpered.

“You need to be more careful.” Chuck said. “You don’t want to get in trouble with The Grand Emperor.”

“O..okay.” Cecile squeaked out, thinking of what she had seen on the screen earlier.

The dog let out another whimper and looked up at Cecile. 

Anxiously, Cecile looked back at him. “H..hello.”

He took a step forward, making Cecile flinch away. The dog let out another whine and stared at her with wide eyes.

Cecile examined him. He did have a resemblance to the guard dogs, the same teal and purple colors, and flat circular feet, but he was smaller, and rounder, even his eyes were bigger.

Cecile shakily put her hand out and touched the top of his head. The dog nuzzled against Cecile’s palm and let out a happier sound.

“H..hi...I’m Cecile…”

The dog let out a friendly bark in reply.

“Hmmm, I guess you need a name too. Let's see...” Cecile looked at him as she thought. On his chest his model number was listed:  **r0v3R.** “How about...Rover?”

The dog let out another happy bark in reply and laid close to Cecile’s side. She smiled and put him into a one arm hug as she dozed off again.


	7. Chapter 7

Cecile opened her eyes slowly and saw someone standing at the end of her bed. “Beverly?”

“Hi Cecile.” She said, her voice softer than Cecile had ever heard from her before. “Are you okay?”

“No..” Cecile sniffled. “My arm hurts and I’m sad.”

  
  


Beverly frowned and went over to the side of Cecile’s bed. “I’m sorry Cecile.”

“It’s not your fault.” Cecile sniffled. “It’s mine. I shouldn’t have..”

“It’s not your fault.” Chuck interrupted. “The Guard Dogs are here to protect us, they’re only supposed to attack as a last resort.”

“Then why did he attack me?” Cecile sniffled.

Chuck shook his head and shrugged. “I...don’t know...but it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah Cecile, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Beverly said.

Rover, still laying next to Cecile, a slight sound, startling Beverly. “Whoa, I didn’t even see him there! Is that a guard dog?”

Cecile shook her head. “Nope. He’s a service dog. He’s gonna help me do things I can’t because of my arm.”

Rover looked up at Beverly curiously with his wide eyes.

“Hi!” Beverly giggled.

Rover let out a small “woof” and smiled at her.

“He’s kinda cute!” Beverly said, patting his head. “Did ya name him yet?”

Cecile nodded. “Rover.”

“That’s a weird name, but I like it.” Beverly said. “Can I pet him?”

Rover happily barked and wagged his tail.

“I think that’s a yes.” Cecile said, smiling gently.

Beverly pet his head. “Hey Rover!”

He nuzzled against her palm, panting happily.

  
  


“You’re a lot nicer than the other dogs.” She said. 

Rover got on his hind legs and licked her cheek, making her giggle more.

“Are you in Cecile’s digging group?” Chuck asked.

“Yep!.” Beverly nodded. “We’re digging buddies!”

“Digging buddies, ay?” Chuck cheekily asked, looking over at Cecile. “And I thought you didn’t like digging.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Cecile said, “I just don’t  _ get  _ it.”

Rover looked up at her curiously.

Beverly rolled her eyes. “Cecile there’s nothing to “get”, okay? We just dig!”

“But why?” Cecile asked.

Rover let out a low huff sound, and pushed himself closer to her.

“The Grand Emperor told us to, and he knows what’s best for us.” Chuck said. “Don’t worry about it, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Rover relaxed again and let out a content sound.

“I have to go.” Beverly said. “But I’ll come back tomorrow after the dig, okay?”

“Okay.” Cecile smiled gently. “Thank you.”

“See ya!” Beverly stopped at the door. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

She reached into her bag and grabbed something before rushing back to Cecile. “I got you something!”

Beverly put a small journal and a pencil next to Cecile. “So you don’t be bored while you’re in here.”

“Thank you!” Cecile said, picking it up. 

“No problem! I gotta jet now though, bye!” And with that she rushed off.

Cecile looked over at her brother. “Chuck?”

“Yeah?”

“Is...is it bad I won’t be able to dig?” Cecile asked.

“No.” Chuck said. “They’ll just have you do a little extra work when you’re better.”

“Extra work?” Cecile asked.

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal.” Chuck shrugged it off. “Just an extra hour of digging every day until you make up for lost time.”

“Oh...okay…” Cecile said, frowning.

“It won’t be so bad Cecile, I’ve had to do it before.” Chuck said.

“Really?” Cecile asked. “But you love digging! When did you miss it?”

“There’s been a few times.” Chuck said. “You were too young to remember them though.”

“Like what?” Cecile asked.

Chuck looked up at the ceiling and sighed a bit before looking back at her. “Well, we’ll probably be in here for a while, I guess I could tell you. But, if it gets too upsetting, tell me and I’ll stop, okay?”

“Okay.” Cecile nodded. She pulled Rover closer as Chuck started his story.

“The first was the day you were born, I was twelve and me, mom, and dad, were all getting ready to get to work…”


	8. Chapter 8

_ Chuck grabbed his bismuth shovel off the table, giving it a quick dust off with a nearby rag. _

_ “You ready for the day sport?” His dad asked, ruffling his hair. _

_ Chuck laughed a bit. “Yeah dad, I’m ready.” _

_ He smiled and grabbed his own shovel, looking at his closely. “Hmm…” _

_ “What?” Chuck asked. _

_ “There’s a dent in the spade.” He said. “I’ll have to get it fixed later.” _

_ He turned around. “Beatrice, sweetheart! Are you ready?” _

_ “Coming, Frederick, dear!” A heavily pregnant woman stumbled into the room, holding on tightly to her own shovel. She smiled warmly as she went over to her husband and gave him a hug. _

_ He smiled gently and kissed her forehead. She looked down at Chuck and smiled. “Good morning Charles.” _

_ “Mooooom.” He groaned in embarrassment. “Just call me Chuck.” _

_ “There’s nothing wrong with your name, sweetheart..” Beatrice said teasingly, squeezing Chuck’s cheek. “It’s a great name, and you should be proud of it.” _

_ “All right mom.” Chuck said, still blushing a bit in embarrassment.  _

_ Beatrice’s smile was replaced by a look of contorted pain.  _

_ “Sweetheart!” Frederick rushed over and pulled her into a tight hug. “Are you all right my dear?” _

_ “I am now that you’re here.” She breathed out before kissing him passionately. _

_ Chuck rolled his eyes a bit. He went over to his dad. “Okay casanova, we gotta go right?” _

_ “But how will I go on without being in your strong, warm, embrace.” Beatrice said dramatically, stroking Frederick’s cheek gently. _

_ “Mooom, you both work in the same place, remember?” Chuck asked.  _

_ “I know dear.” She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “But one day, when you’re in love, you’ll understand.” _

  
  
  


“Mom and dad didn’t know you were aromantic?” Cecile asked.

“Cecile, at that point,  _ I  _ didn’t know I was aromantic.”

  
  


_ Frederick grabbed her hand and lead her towards the exit of their family unit. _

_ She grimaced as she clenched her stomach again. _

_ “Are you positive you are all right my dear?” He asked. _

_ “Yes…” She panted out, leaning against Frederick. “I’m positively fine! I just think I’m anxious to start the day.” _

_ They went their separate ways from Chuck, who headed to where the other twelve year olds were gathered, to start his day. _

_ At first it had been mostly uneventful, with him and the others focused on the task at hand, silently digging to the core of Metro. _

_ Chuck was pushing up lumps and lumps of dirt. He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his arm, getting dirt on his face. He was so hyper fixated on working that he almost dropped his shovel when his group’s leader cleared his throat aggressively from behind. _

_ He quickly turned around. “Sir? Is something wrong?” _

_ He shook his head. “No, nothing is wrong per say, but you do need to report to the medical bay immediately.” _

_ Chuck’s eyes widened. “The medical bay? What for?” _

_ “Your mother has gone into labor.” He said, “Your father is already there.” _

_ “In labor?” Chuck asked in surprise. _

_ “Yes.” His leader confirmed.  _

_ “But...the dig…” Chuck said, looking back at the others. _

_ “You’ll be able to make up hours later on.” His Leader said. “You should be there for your mother.” _

_ “Can’t I go after the dig?” Chuck asked. _

  
  
  


“You didn’t wanna see me?” Cecile asked, sounding hurt.

“I’m sorry Cecile.” Chuck said. “It’s not like that anymore. I was young, and all I cared about was digging...I still do care about it obviously, but you’re still more important to me.”

He stroked her hair gently and she giggled. Rover snuggled closer and licked her cheek, making the giggle turn into a full blown laugh. 

She looked at Chuck, smiling now. “So was that the day that changed that?”

Chuck shook his head. “No, that happened a little later on, but it was a start.”

  
  
  


_ “Digging is important, but your family is moreseo.” The Leader said. “We need workers to thrive or we’ll have less people digging in the future. Do you understand?” _

_ Chuck shrugged. “I guess so.” _

_ “Good. I will see you tomorrow then.” _

_ Chuck grabbed his shovel and made his way out of the hole. As he made his way to the medical bay, he quickly wiped the dirt off his shovel with his shirt. _

_ When he got there he saw the doctor waiting in the doorway. _

_ “There you are.” She said. “Your parents are inside, waiting for you.” _

_ Chuck went into the small room and winced at the lights. He put his shovel’s spade above his eyes, trying to block it out. _

_ “Charles!” His father said, rushing over and pulling him into a hug. “We’re so glad you’re here son!” _

_ “Hey dad.” Chuck said, returning the hug. “How’s mom doing?” _

_ “She’s doing just fine.” He said with a soft smile. He pulled back and grabbed Chuck’s arm, leading him over to the small hospital bed. _

_ Beatrice’s eyes lit up when Chuck came over. “Charles, I’d like you to meet someone!” _

_ She shifted her arms so Chuck could see the small infant swaddled in a white blanket. The baby whined and snuggled into Beatrice’s breast. “This is your new baby sister, Cecile.” _

_ “Isn’t she beautiful?” Frederick asked proudly. _

_ Chuck examined her. “I mean...I guess so...she just looks like a baby to me.” He shrugged. _

_ “Do you want to hold her?” Beverly asked. _

_ “Uh…” He looked at the shovel he was already holding. “No thanks, I need to clean my shovel.” _

_ Beatrice frowned. “But…” _

_ “He’s just being responsible, my love.” Frederick reassured her, giving her a small kiss on the forehead. “Don’t take it too personally.” _

_ “Right.” She sighed slightly, pulling Cecile closer. “You go on and clean your shovel, perhaps you can have a more proper introduction later.” _

_ Chuck sat down on one of the plastic chairs and grabbed a tissue from the box. He started dry scrubbing the shovel down while his mom and dad cooed over the baby. _

  
  


“You didn’t wanna hold me either?”

“Again, Cecile, my mind was focused on other things.” He said, scooting his chair a bit closer to her bed. “But it doesn’t matter now, okay?”

“Okay.”

  
  
  


_ “You ready to go home?” Frederick asked. _

_ “Home? But what about the dig?” Chuck asked. _

_ “You don’t need to worry about that yet, son.” He said, “You’ll just make up time tomorrow.”  _

_ “But I  _ **_want_ ** _ to dig!” Chuck protested. _

_ “Tell you what kiddo.” He said. “We can dig together at home, okay? That way we can keep an eye on your mom, okay?” _

_ “Okay, dad.” Chuck grabbed his shovel as he his dad went over to the hospital bed.  _

_ He grabbed her arm gently and helped her stand up, making sure she still held on tightly to Cecile. _

_ “How are you feeling love?” He asked. _

_ “I’m doing fine. The pain hasn’t gone away completely, but...I feel like by tomorrow I’ll be fine and ready to dig some more.” She smiled. _

_ Frederick led her home as Chuck followed closely behind, clutching his shovel tightly. _

  
  


_ Beatrice laid in bed, holding her newborn close to her chest. She smiled warmly as she stroked the few strands of purple hair just barely starting to grow in, _

_ Chuck and his dad stood in the fairly deep hole in the middle of their family unit. Chuck only kept his focus on digging until his dad cleared his throat,”Son?” _

_ “Yeah, dad?” _

_ “How do you feel about your new sister?” He asked. _

_ Chuck shrugged. “I mean she’s a baby...I guess I don’t really have an opinion of her. I’m still mad I had to stop digging for her birth.” _

_ “I’ll admit, that was upsetting for me as well, but we’re family and we need to look out for one another.” He said, “One day Cecile will grow up to be an excellent digger! And we all need to be here to nurture her skills as a future digger, it’s what The Grand Emperor wishes, do you understand?” _

_ “Yes dad.” Chuck said, looking back at the ground. _

_ Back on the bed, Beatrice held Cecile closer. “I’ve got something for you, my angel.” _

_ From behind her bed, she pulled out a small, home sewed, plush shovel and placed it in her arms.  _

_ Cecile made a small sound before dropping the plush shovel. _

_ Beatrice laughed gently before grabbing the shovel again. “No sweetheart, hold on to it.” _

_ Cecile whined and let go again. _

_ Beatrice frowned this time as she grabbed the shovel. “My angel, I spent so much time making this for you. I want you to cherish it, as much, if not more than I cherish you and Chuck.” She placed it in Cecile’s tiny hands again and rocked her gently.  _

_ This time when Cecile dropped it, Beatrice caught it right away. _

_ “Sweetheart, why don’t you want this? I made this for you.” She said, trying to put it in her arms again. “Don’t you like it?” _

_ Cecile yawned before closing her eyes and falling asleep. _

_ Beatrice sighed as she placed the plush shovel back where it was before. “Maybe later you’ll want it…” _

  
  
  


“Chuck?” Cecile asked.

“Yeah?”

“What happened to mom and dad?” 

Chuck sighed. “Maybe...we should wait until your older…”

“But I want to know.” Cecile whined softly.

“All right, but again, if you can’t handle it, tell me and I’ll stop, okay?”

Cecile nodded. “Okay.”

  
  
  


_ The following day a robot nanny dog came to the family unit.  _

_ “Thank you so much for coming.” Beatrice said to her. _

_ The nanny dog let out a happy bark in reply and went over to the bed where Cecile laid. She sniffed Cecile and gave her a gentle lick on the cheek, _

_ Cecile made a noise and reached her hand out, touching the top of her head. _

_ The nanny dog leaned over and nuzzled Cecile. _

_ Beatrice smiled. “You promise to take care of my daughter?” _

_ The dog barked in reply and gave a small salute before turning back to the baby. _

_ Beatrice, Frederick, and Chuck left their family unit and headed towards the digging grounds. Beatrice’s eyes lingered on the entrance to their home before shifting back. _

_ “Are you all right my love?” Frederick asked. _

_ “Yes.” She said, although she sounded slightly out of it. “I was just...pondering somethings…” _

_ “What kind of things, may I ask?” _

_ Beatrice shook her head. “Nothing of importance, my dear. I ...I just hope Cecile will be all right home all alone with the nanny dog.” _

_ “Why wouldn’t she be, darling?” He asked. “She was made byThe Grand Emperor specifically to care for babies.” _

_ “Right, right.” She said, “Foolish of me to think otherwise.” _

_ Chuck and his parents went their separate ways and went off to their respective digging sites. _

  
  


_ That night, Beatrice put her still dirty shovel against the wall, and went over to Cecile, cradling her close. “Hello my angel, my precious little one.” _

_ She sat on the edge of her bed, stroking the small curls of hair out of Cecile’s face. _

_ The nanny dog took a step away, her eyes landing on the still dirty shovel leaning up against the wall. She let out a slight huff before heading out of the family unit area. _

  
  


_ Beatrice kissed the top of Cecile’s forehead and bounced her slightly. Frederick and Chuck both sat down and started cleaning their shovels off. _

_ Beatrice looked at Cecile in the eyes and smiled softly.  _

_ “Why don’t we try this again?” She asked, grabbing the plush shovel. She placed it in Cecile’s hands. _

_ Cecile’s grasp loosened and she dropped it onto the floor. _

_ Beatrice reached down for the shovel but paused and decided to keep her arms on Cecile. “My baby, my precious baby.” _

  
  


“And then the next day...she just vanished.” Chuck said sadly. 

“And dad?”

“Things got harder after mom disappeared...for all of us.”

  
  
  


_ Frederick scrubbed his cloth against his shovel, while Chuck sat by cleaning his. In the corner of the room, Cecile wept. _

_ Frederick sighed as he put his shovel down and went over to the bed. “Cecile, darling, you must calm down.”  _

_ He picked her up and cradled her gently. “Shh, shh it’s all right, it’s all right. Please stop crying my poor little angel.” _

_ He kissed her forehead and held her closer. “I’m here for you, you don’t need to be so sad...I’m here as is Chuck...we’re here Cecile, we’re here...and we always will be.” _

_ Cecile’s cries turned into just soft whimpers, and slowly she drifted off to sleep.  _

_ Chuck came over. “Is she doing okay dad?” _

_ “I think so.” He said, stroking a piece of Cecile’s hair out of her face. “I think she misses her mother…” _

_ “How can she miss her, she’s a baby! She isn’t even going to remember her!” Chuck cried. “I’m going to actually remember her! Cecile isn’t!” _

_ Frederick gently laid Cecile back on the bed and headed over to Chuck. He gently put his hand on his shoulder. “Son…” _

_ Chuck sniffled loudly and clung to his dad. “It’s not fair dad! What happened to her? Where is she?” _

_ “Shh shh, I know son, I know.” Frederick said, pulling Chuck into a tighter hug. “But we all have a right to miss her, even Cecile does.” _

_ “But she won’t remember mom.” Chuck sniffled. _

_ “I know, I know.” He said, gently stroking his back. “But when she’s older, she’ll have the right to know about her mother...she’ll be sad then...and she should be able to be sad with us. Do you understand?” _

_ “I think so.” Chuck said.  _

_ “And we’ll both be here for her, right son?” Fredereck asked.  _

_ Chuck looked over at Cecile and then back to his dad, smiling a little. “Yeah dad. We will.” _

_ The next day Chuck and his dad were waiting for the robot nanny dog to show up before they headed off to dig. _

_ Frederick groaned as he kept trying to smooth out the shovel. _

_ “Is something wrong dad?” Chuck asked. _

_ “This dent is getting a lot worse.” He sighed. “I can not buff it out.”  _

_ He sat down. “Perhaps if I put a little elbow grease into it, I can get it..” _

_ Frederick tried again before letting out a defeated sigh. “I’m never going to be able to fix this am I?” _ _   
  
_

_ He looked around and his eyes landed on a pair of rocks “Hmmm, if I can not buff it out, then perhaps I can undent it.” _

_ He grabbed both of them, keeping on steady on the spade and holding the other tightly in his hand. Slowly he moved his arm back and forth, aiming it just perfectly before striking the other rock. _

_ The pressure of the blow shattered that part of the shovel.  _

_ “Oh dear!” He gasped. “My shovel!” _

_ “Dad?” Chuck asked. “What happened?” _

_ Fredrick stood up and grabbed his shovel, cradling it the same way he would Cecile. “N..nothing son. Everything is fine. I just uh...I need to..talk..to my group leader about this...incident...When the nanny comes, you can just head off, all right sport?” _

_ “Okay dad…” Chuck said, although he sounded a bit unsure. _

  
  


_ Later that day Chuck arrived back to the family unit. The nanny dog had just finished rocking Cecile to sleep and gave her a small kiss on the forehead before leaving. _

_ Chuck sat on the bed and looked at Cecile as she steadily breathed in and out. “Wow, you’re really tiny aren’t ya?” _

_ Cecile made a small noise and Chuck laughed softly. He looked over to the side of the bed and saw the plush shovel.  _

_ Chuck grabbed it and sighed, hugging it close to his chest. Gently he stroked Cecile’s hair. “Mom loved you a lot, you know?” _

_ Cecile made another noise. _

_ “She even made this for you.” Chuck said, holding the plush closer. “She made me one too when I was younger...I still sleep with it, but...don’t tell anyone that, okay?” _

_ Cecile let out a small sound. _

_ “I’ll take that as a yes.” Chuck laughed. _

_ They sat there silently for a moment until Chuck spoke up again, “Hey, where’s dad? He’s usually here by now.” _

_ Chuck peeked out the entrance for any sign of him. The only thing he could see was the guard dogs piling into the elevator and going to the surface. _

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

“Hey Chuck?” Cecile asked. “What’s up on the surface anyways?”

“I don’t know exactly, but...we’re not supposed to go up there. It’s dangerous.” Chuck said.

“How do you know it’s dangerous if you’ve never been up there?” Cecile asked.

“The Grand Emperor told us it’s a desolate wasteland filled with killer creatures.” He said. 

Rover whimpered and shook in fear.

“Don’t worry we’re safe down here, away from them.” Chuck reassured.

Cecile frowned. “What if one of them comes down here?”

“They won’t.” Chuck said. “The reason the guard dogs go up after digging hours is to fight them off and keep them away from Metro.”

“Really?” Cecile asked.

“Yeah. My favorite book when I was a little kid was all about how the guard dogs fight them off! I should look for it so you can read it.”

Cecile smiled slightly. “Thank you.” She let out a yawn and placed her head firmly on the pillow.    
  


“You’re really tired tonight aren’t you? Guess I can’t blame ya, you went through a lot today.” Chuck started stroking Cecile’s hair again. “You get some rest, all right?”

“Mhm.” Cecile said, already nodding off.

Rover pushed himself forward and snuggled under Cecile’s arms. She hugged him close to her chest tightly as she drifted off to sleep.

  
  
  


“Hey Cecile.” 

Cecile woke up the whisper and groaned as she slightly opened her eyes. “What?”

“I have to head off to dig now, but I’ll be back after, okay?” Chuck said.

Cecile nodded tiredly and closed her eyes again, falling back asleep right away.

  
  


A few hours later Cecile woke up, Rover was still snoozing by her side. She gently stroked the top of his head and looked around. The doctor was nowhere in sight.  _ I guess she still has to dig too, huh. _

Her eyes wandered to the small journal still sitting on the side of her bed. She leaned over and grabbed it.  _ I might as well write to pass the time. _

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Hi, I’m Cecile. I’m seven years old and I’m in the Junior digging brigade. Right now I’m sitting in a hospital bed because a guard dog attacked me and hurt my arm. _

She paused and tapped the pencil against the paper in thought.  _ Is that all I have to say? Seems kinda...bland….and awkward… _

She looked out the window in the room and saw one of the elevators the guard dogs went on to get to and from Metro.

Cecile looked back at the journal and did a one handed sketch of the elevator. 

_ I asked Chuck yesterday about the surface. He said it’s just some wasteland full of monsters up there. But…is it? He said The Grand Emperor said so, so it must be true right? He told me not to question The Grand Emperor. _

  
  


Cecile started sketching the elevator to the surface and The Grand Emperor under her writing. 

_But what do the monsters look like?_ _Are the small with big teeth, or big with small teeth? Do they have paws, hooves, or hands? Are they slimy or furry? Do they have two eyes or more?_

Cecile started drawing the monsters. 

_ The only way I’d know for sure is if I went to the surface myself. _

She laughed a little bit.

_ Like that’s ever going to happen. _

Cecile closed the notebook and sighed a little bit. Rover let out a small yawn as he woke up. 

“Hey, Rover? Have you ever been to the surface?” Cecile asked.

Rover shook his head.

“Have you ever wanted to?”

Rover let out a whimper and shook his head again.

“I just wonder what it’s like up there…” Cecile said, her eyes wandering back to the elevators again.

Rover let out a low whine as he snuggled closer to Cecile.

“I know, I shouldn’t be thinking about going up there, but I’m all cooped up in here, and there’s really nothing to do than to let my mind wander.”

Rover looked around the room and his eyes landed on the blood pressure pump. He hopped off the bed, grabbed it in his mouth, and returned to Cecile. 

“What’s this?”

Rover nudged it towards her with his snout and let out a small bark.

Cecile noticed the squishy part at the end. “Oh? Do you want me to squeeze this?”

Rover nodded.

Cecile grabbed it and squished it as hard as she could. “This is pretty relaxing…”

Rover let out a sigh of relief as he laid back down and closed his eyes.

Cecile kept squeezing it, but her mind began to wander again. She grabbed her journal again:

_ My service dog Rover, and my big brother Chuck both agree the surface is bad. Chester says it’s a wasteland and Rover is scared at the idea of going up there. I wonder what it looks like. _

She started sketching a barren landscape.

_ What do the monsters even eat up there then? I guess they eat humans if they want to attack us. But there haven’t been any down here, so what do they usually eat?Do they just eat each other or do they eat dirt? I don’t think dirt tastes too good. I’ve gotten too much of it in my mouth when I was digging, it’s gross! _

Cecile looked around to make sure she was alone before she continued writing:

_ I can’t admit this outloud since everyone loves digging here, but I don’t really like digging. My friend Beverly tells me how fun it is, but I don’t see it. No one ever even told me  _ **_why_ ** _ we dig, other than The Grand Emperor says so. Why does he say so? If I ever meet him I’m going to have to ask him. _

_ For now I’m still in the medical bay waiting for my arm to heal...or get amputated…. _

She sighed as she closed her journal again. “Rover, you still awake?”

Rover let out a snore in reply.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait for Chuck to come back…”


	10. Chapter 10

A few days passed and generally went the same. Chuck would visit her in the morning before going off to dig and came back afterwards. Every once in a while Beverly would come in too and give updates about the Junior Digging Brigade.

There was always the dull hours in between though where it was just Cecile, Rover, and her journal.

Nothing eventful happened...until the day her arm went completely numb.

“Can you move it at all?” The doctor asked gently as she started touching multiple places on her arm.

Cecile sniffled as she shook her head.”N..no...I...I can’t m..move...

The doctor frowned more. “And you don’t feel anything?”

“N...no.”

The doctor sighed. “This is what I feared…”

“W..what?” Cecile whimpered.

“The nerves in your arm are completely damaged.” She explained. “There’s not really any chance for them to heal.”

“We’re going to have to amputate your arm.”

Cecile’s eyes widened in fear. “Am...amputate!?”

“Yes, but…”

Cecile grabbed Rover and started sobbing into him. He let out a sympathetic whimper as he nuzzled against her and licked her cheek.

Chuck leaned over in his chair and stroked her back gently. “Shh,shh, Cecile, it’s okay, it’s okay…”

The doctor knelt down to her level. “There are many people out there who are amputees, it’s completely normal.”

“Th..that’s n..not why I’m s..s..scared.” Cecile said. “I..I’m f..fine having o..one arm, I know it’s normal…. I...I’m just scared of the….the...the surgery…”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be unconscious the whole time.” The doctor reassured her. “You won’t feel a thing.”

Cecile sniffled. “R..really?”

“Really.” She said softly.

Cecile looked at Chuck. “Will you be here?”

Chuck looked at the doctor. 

“You can be present if you’d like, but the operation will be performed during digging hours.” The doctor said.

“Well, then…” Chuck looked over at Cecile, her eyes full and teary. He sighed. “I’ll be there.”

“Thank you Chuck.” Cecile sniffled. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“No problem.” He said.

  
  
  


“So they’re just gonna cut your arm off?” Beverly asked.

Cecile shook her head. “No, it’s a surgery. Remember when you told me you got your tonsils out?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like that, only...different…” She said. “I’m gonna be uncious when they do it.”

“Oh okay….” Beverly kicked her feet back and forth idly. “I miss you.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do, you’re my digging buddy!” She said.

Cecile smiled slightly. “Thanks.”

“When do you think you’ll be able to dig again?” Beverly asked.

Cecile shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess sometime after the surgery.”

“Oh okay.” She said, still frowning a bit. She looked around and her eyes landed on the journal. “Do you like the journal I got you?”

Cecile’s face lit up. “Yeah, I’ve been writing in it, thank you again.”

“What did you write in it?” Beverly asked.

“It’s a secret.”

“Oh.” Beverly giggled. “A secret, I got it. You’re coming up with more ways to dig, aren’t you?”

Now it was Cecile’s turn to giggle. “No. Just stuff I’ve been thinking about.”

“Oh come on, tell me about what you wrote!” Beverly said excitedly. 

“Well…” Cecile paused.

“Pleeeease!?” Beverly begged.

“All right, but you have to promise you won’t tell anyone, okay?” 

“I promise!” Beverly said.

Cecile sighed a bit anxiously before opening her journal up and showing her friend. “I’ve been writing about the surface.”

“The surface!?” Beverly gasped. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous and...and full of monsters up there!?”

“Yeah, Chuck told me.” Cecile said. 

“You can’t go up there Cecile, you just can’t!” Beverly said, nearly in hysterics.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay Beverly, it’s okay. I’m not going to the surface.” Cecile reassured.    
  


“You’re not?” She breathed out in relief.

“No, of course not.” Cecile said. “I’m just curious what it’s like up there?   
  


Beverly blinked. “You mean besides the monsters?”

“No, I’m curious about the monsters...what do they look like? What do they eat?”

“Tanya told me they’re big and slimy and have teeth on their tentacles!” Beverly said, acting it out.

“Tanya’s been to the surface?” Cecile asked, suddenly more interested.

She shook her head. “No, but her friend’s friend’s cousin’s sister’s friend did….and she never returned..”

“If she never returned, how could she tell her friend what the monsters looked like?”

Beverly didn’t respond for a moment before speaking again, “...Anyways, I’m glad you like the journal. I gotta go now.”

“So, you promise you won’t tell anyone about what I wrote?” Cecile asked.

“I promise.” Beverly said. “I’ll see you later, bye!”

“Bye.” Cecile slumped back into the bed and looked at Rover. “You up?”

Rover yawned and looked over, wagging his tail slightly.

“You’ll be here during the surgery right?” Cecile asked.

Rover nodded and snuggled closer to her.

“Thanks Rover.” She pulled him into a hug, her eyes slowly closing.

Suddenly she shot upright with a gasp, startling Rover. “My journal!”

She gripped it tightly in her hand. “What if someone finds it when I’m in surgery?”

Rover tapped his chin in thought before a figurative light bulb turned on above his head. A metal claw emerged from his back and grabbed the journal before going back down, taking it with him.

“Thank you Rover!” Cecile said, hugging him tighter.

Rover licked her cheek and Cecile giggled. 

“Now I know my journal will be safe for sure.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Hey Cecile, I found the book for you!” Chuck said excitedly.

“What book?” She asked.

“The one I told you about with the guard dog going to the service to fight monsters?” Chuck said.

“Oh right that one!” Cecile said, suddenly more interested. 

“I thought you’d need a distraction before your surgery tomorrow.” He said, placing it gently in her lap. “This is my childhood copy, so be careful, okay?”

Cecile nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll be back after the dig, you see you later, kiddo.” Chuck ruffled her hair slightly before heading out.

Cecile excitedly turned to Rover. “This is it, Rover! This’ll answer all my questions about the surface!”

Rover sniffed the book slightly and sneezed.

Cecile giggled. “It’s a bit dusty isn’t it?”

Rover sniffled and rubbed his nose with his paw.

“But, I’m finally going to know about the surface!” Cecile squealed in glee, kicking her feet slightly. She pulled Rover closer to her. “Let’s read it right now!”

Cecile cleared her throat as she read the title, “Guardian Angels: The Dogs That Protect Metro.”

She turned the page. “As we dig in the glorious city of Metro, we have our faithful guardians watching over us for our safety. When we go home their work has just begun. They shuffle into the elevators and go to the world above Metro.”

“Oooh, next page is going to be it for sure!” She giggled in excitement. Quickly she turned the page and saw it had been scribbled over with crayon. “Oh no...no..”

She flipped through more pages, all either stained or torn, or scribbled over. Cecile sighed as she placed the book down. “I guess I’ll never find out what the surface is like after all…”

  
  


Cecile was breathing heavily as the doctor stood above her. “Are you ready?”

Cecile squeaked but nodded. “Y..yeah.”

The doctor grabbed a mask and put it over Cecile’s nose and mouth. “Just breathe in and out okay?”

Cecile inhaled and exhaled as the gas started to work. Slowly she turned her head and looked over to the chairs on the side. Chuck and Rover were both sitting there, and they gave her a reassuring smile.

Cecile smiled herself before the gas took effect and she fell asleep.

  
  


Cecile groaned as she opened her eyes. “Ugh...is the surgery done?”

She looked around, noticing she was no longer in the hospital bed, but in the middle of a patch of dirt. “Hello? Is anyone there? Hello!?....Where am I?”

She looked down at her arm and noticed that the surgery had been completed. She stumbled onto her feet and walked around more. “Hello! Anybody here? Hello!?”

She heard a low growling sound behind her. Slowly Cecile turned around and was face to face with a big, slimy monster.

She screamed as she ran away from the beast, but he extended a long tentacle, wrapping it around her leg. Sharp tiny teeth pierced the skin of her leg.

Cecile fell to the ground and tried to hold onto the soil with her fingers as he slowly pulled her towards him. “No! No! Please! Let me go! Let me go! Stop! Please. No!”

The monster hoisted her up and held her above his gaping mouth.

“No, please, no! Don’t eat me, please! Please!”Cecile cried.

Suddenly the ground rumbled beneath them. As the dirt below started to lift, the monster dropped Cecile.

“Ugh!” She groaned as she hit her side. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up. 

A giant Beverly was there, holding a giant shovel, and the pile of dirt Cecile and the monster were in, was in the middle of the spade. She flung the dirt back and Cecile went flying.

She hit the ground again, and let out another pained whimper. “Chuck….Rover…..”

More dirt rained on her as she passed out again.

  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Cecile opened her eyes and groaned. “Huh? Where...where am I?”

“You’re in the medical bay.” Chuck said. “Your anesthesia just wore off.”

“So I’m not on the surface getting chased by monsters and pelted by dirt?” She asked weakly.

“What? No.” Chuck sounded confused. “You probably had a bad dream.”

He and Rover walked over, Rover hopping on the bed and nuzzling her.

“How do you feel?” Chuck asked.

“I feel … dizzy…” 

“We’re giving you oxygen through the mask now.” The doctor said, “You’ll start feeling better in a moment.”

“When can I go back to my family unit?” Cecile asked.

“If you’re feeling all right, I suppose you can go back tonight.” She said. “And get a good night's rest so you can be up bright and early tomorrow to dig!” 

“Oh right.” Cecile said, frowning slightly before forcing a smile. “I uh...almost forgot about that..yippee….”

The doctor smiled. “I’m glad you’re excited to get back out there.”

“Yeah of course...why...wouldn’t I be?”

  
  
  


“This is our Family Unit, Rover!” Cecile said as they and Chuck entered through the doorway. “You’re gonna stay here with us!”

Rover looked around curiously. It was a humble little Family Unit, with a small kitchen area, two tiny bedrooms, a small area to sit and clean off your shovels, and of course a huge hole in the center for off digging hours digging.

Cecile took Rover to one of the small bedrooms. “This is my room.” 

Rover hopped onto the bed and cuddled into the blankets.

Cecile giggled. “I guess you like it here, huh?”

She sat beside him and stroked his head. “Hey Rover? Thanks for holding onto my journal for me.”

Rover barked happily in reply. His back opened again and the same claw as before dropped the journal onto Cecile’s lap.

“You know, I’m not gonna miss being in bed all day, but I’m going to miss not having to dig.” Cecile sighed. “And I’m gonna have to make up time now that I’ve been gone.”

Rover whimpered and laid his head in her lap.

“Well, you’ll be able to come with me at least, right?” Cecile asked, still stroking him gently. “You’re still my service dog, right?”

Rover let out a reassuring bark and licked her cheek.

Cecile hugged him before leaning back in her bed. She grabbed her journal and flipped through the pages. “And I’ll have something to think about while I dig.”

Rover whimpered slightly.

“Don’t worry, as long as I don’t actually go to the surface, it’ll be fine.” Cecile reassured. She looked at him. “But, have you ever dug before?”

Rover shook his head. 

“You don’t have to dig if you won’t want to.” Cecile said. _ At least you have that choice…. _

  
  
  


“You ready for your first day back digging?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah…” Cecile looked down, gripping her shovel tightly in her hands. Rover nuzzled against her leg gently. “Yeah...It’s….great to be back….”

Cecile and Chuck went their separate ways, and headed towards their dig sites.

“Hey Cecile, you’re back!” Beverly giggled in excitement, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Yeah, I’m back.” Cecile said, returning the hug. 

“I missed you so much!” Beverly said.

“I missed you too.” Cecile said, pulling away.

Beverly looked down at Cecile’s feet. “Oh, you brought Rover with?”

“Yeah.” Cecile said. “He’s my service dog, I need him here.”

“Is he gonna dig with us?” Beverly asked,eagerly.

Rover shook his head and pointed to where the robotic guard dogs sat. 

“Oh okay!” Beverly said. She grabbed Cecile’s arm, nearly dragging her to the dig site. “Come on, come on! Digging starts soon!”

Beverly stood beside Cecile the whole time, catching her up on everything. “And then we managed to get to a whole new layer of dirt! I bet we’ll get to the center soon! What if we’re the first group to  **ever** get to the center of Metro? Ooooh, The Grand Emperor would be so proud!”

Cecile listened the best she could, but her mind wandered back to the surface.  _ I wonder….who dug to make Metro? Was it The Grand Emperor? If he did, why didn’t he just keep digging to the center?  _

“...And Marcelin dug the most out of all of us! Oh, our leader was so proud of her and said The Grand Emperor would be too! I’d do anything to get his approval! What about you?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, of...of course…” Cecile said.

Beverly frowned. “You okay, digging buddy? You seem a little...out of it.”

“I’m...I’m fine...I just have to get used to digging again.” Cecile said.

“Don’t worry, my daddy said that digging is just a second nature for citizens of Metro, so you’ll get it down again in no time!”

“Right…” Cecile’s eyes wandered over to where Rover sat next to the guard dogs. Compared to them he looked like a baby, small and non threatening.

The guard dogs kept their eyes straight ahead, looking at the young diggers. Rover awkwardly looked around until he made eye contact with Cecile.

Cecile put her shovel down and waved. Rover panted happily and waved his front paw.

  
  


“Miss Cecile.” The Leader said.

She gulped and looked up to see her stern expression.

“We’re not getting distracted, are we?” She asked.

“No uh … I just uh … uh .. I ..”

“Just because you have been out injured for nearly two weeks, does not excuse laziness or distractedness whilst digging. Do you understand?”

“I uh was just uh … calling my service dog over..” Cecile covered. “Come here Rover!”

Rover quickly ran over, stopping just the edge of the hole.

The Leader grimaced and just shook her head slightly. “Fair enough Cecile, but try not to let your mind wander from the task at hand, hm?”

“I won’t.” Cecile said as her leader walked away.  _ Phew that was close.  _

“Hi Rover!” Beverly called out. “You gonna join us now!?”

Rover shook his head and planted his rear end on the ground.

Cecile giggled. “Don’t worry Rover, you can just watch.”

“So anyways, where was I?” Beverly asked. “Oh right! You should’ve seen the big pile of dirt last thursday, it was  **huge!** It was taller than any of us, including Miss Leader!”


	13. Chapter 13

“Good job today everyone!” Miss Leader said as the kids filed out of the hole towards their waiting parents .. “You’ve made The Grand Emperor and all of Metro proud with your hard work!”

“Um … Miss Leader?” Cecile asked.

“Yes?”

“How … how does the overtime digging work?” Cecile asked.

She smiled warmly. “I’m glad you remembered. It’s a sign you’re finally taking this seriously! You’ll stay an hour later each day until you can make up the time you missed.”

“Okay … thank you.” Cecile said.

“Of course … I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said as she headed off.

Most of the guard dogs shuffled off, but two remained, no doubt to keep an eye on Cecile as she dug.

“Hey Rover, can you tell me when an hour’s up?” Cecile asked.

Rover nodded as a countdown clock appeared on his chest:  **59:59**

Cecile picked up her shovel again and exhaled harshly. “Okay … You can do this Cecile … it’s just an hour more … just … one … more … hour … then … then you can go home … and … and write in your diary … and snuggle up in bed. .. you can do this Cecile … You ….can … do … this …. How much time do I have left?”

She looked over:  **59:56**

“Are you kidding me!?” She groaned.

Rover whimpered sympathetically.

Cecile sat down and sighed. “I just can’t do this.” 

She looked up at Rover. “Everyone tells me how great digging is, but is it really!? I’m not having any fun at all!”

Rover whimpered again.

Cecile grabbed a stone and started drawing the elevator in the dirt, followed by pictures of the guard dogs going up it. 

“I don’t even think they like it down here if they’re so eager to go up and fight monsters.” She drew one of the monsters from her dream in the dirt. “I wonder if I could fight monsters? Nah, I don’t like fighting …. I couldn’t do that … I just … I just wish I knew what it was like up there …”

  
  


Cecile groaned tiredly as she plopped on top of her bed, Rover following close behind. “So …. Tired … .so ….sore …”

Rover nuzzled her cheek and laid beside her.

“Cecile!” Chuck called.

“Whaaat?” Cecile groaned.

“Did you clean your shovel yet!?”

“Oh uh …. Not yet!” She yelled back.

“Then do it right now!”

“But ...”

“Now!”

Cecile groaned as she got out of bed and headed to the main area of the Family Unit, Rover following close behind. She grabbed her shovel and started cleaning it off. She yawned as she dipped her rag in the water again.

Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as she fell asleep.

  
  
  


Cecile woke up a few hours later, still clinging to her shovel. “Ugh … Rover?”

The robotic dog was snuggled against her side, wagging his tail slightly. “How long was I out for?”

He let out a worried whimper and nuzzled against her cheek. 

“I gotta get to bed.” Cecile groaned.

Rover helped her up and lead her back to bed. Cecile snuggled under the covers and pulled Rover close to her chest. “Thanks.”

She groggily grabbed her journal and opened it:

_ Dear Diary, _

_ Today was hard. I had to do my first makeup digging hours since my surgery. The day before it, Chuck let me borrow a book about the guard dogs fighting monsters on the surface, but it was so wrecked I couldn’t read it! Maybe the Metro Archives have a copy of the book? Maybe they have other things about the surface too! Maybe I can go there after digging tomorrow?  _

Cecile yawned and and set her journal aside and fell asleep.

  
  
  


“Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Beverly said.

“Bye Beaverly.” Cecile said, forcing a smile. 

Once all the students and the group leader left, Cecile sat in the dirt and sighed. Rover sat near the edge of the hole and started the hour long countdown on his chest.

“I think I’ll have time to head over to the archives after this.” She said to Rover.

The guard dogs, excluding the two staying to keep an eye on Cecile, headed towards the elevator to the surface. 

However as they boarded, a loud thump echoed down the elevator shaft. The guard dogs were startled and looked over to see a small white fluff ball.

  
  


They started snarling and growling at the creature, scaring them, and making them scamper off. The dogs chased after them, eventually cornering them by the hole.

Thinking fast, the creature hopped into the hole and landed in Cecile’s lap. 

Cecile gasped as she looked down at the small little thing.

They were a white ball of fluff with beady, little black eyes, and a tiny pink nose. Cecile softened and started petting their fur. “Are you one of those monsters from the surface? You don’t look dangerous at all.”

The little fluff ball nuzzled against Cecile’s hand and she giggled softly. The guard dogs snarled as they neared the hole and made their way down.

The creature squeaked as they bolted away, running straight up the crater, back towards the elevator. They stood on the platform and were taken back up the shaft before the guard dogs could get them.

_ What  _ **_was_ ** _ that? They couldn’t have been one of the monsters from the surface … could they? _


	14. Chapter 14

When Cecile got back to her designated family area, she gave her shovel a quick wash before hurrying back to her room and grabbing her journal.

_ Dear Diary, _

_ I saw something from the surface today! I think they were one of the monsters I’ve heard about, but they didn’t look like one. They actually looked kind of … cute. It kinda looked like a fluff ball. I think that’s what I’m going to call them! Fluff Ball! _

Cecile doodled Fluff Ball under her entry.

_ I even got a little bit of their fur on my shirt. _

She taped the few strands of fur that was still on her.

_ Fluff Ball came down the elevator shaft as the other guard dogs were leaving, and those mean dogs chased after them! They weren’t hurting anything! Why did they try to attack them? _

_ I didn’t go to the archives today because I don’t think anything can beat what I saw today! I think I’ll go there tomorrow. Maybe I can find what this “monster” is. _

  
  
  


“Hey, Cecile, are you okay?” Beverly asked.

“Huh?” Cecile snapped back to attention.

“You seem kinda out of it today, are you okay?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, I’m … I’m fine… I just have a lot of things on my mind today.”

“Things? What kind of things?” Beverly asked, now curious. “Are they digging things?”

“No, they’re not digging things.” Cecile said.

“Then what are they about?” Beverly pried. 

Cecile looked around before whispering. “Can you keep another secret?”

“Yeah, of course I can!” She said, causing others to look over at her. “Oops I mean …”

She lowered her voice, “Of course I can.”

“I’m thinking about the surface again.” Cecile whispered.

“Still!?” She asked in shock, causing more staring.

“Still?” She whispered.

Cecile nodded. “I saw something really weird yesterday … .I think it was one of the monsters from the surface.”

Beverly gasped. “Really?”

“Yeah, it came down the elevator shaft yesterday when I was doing my makeup digging.”

“No way! Was it big and scary? Did it have a bunch of tentacles?” Beverly asked.

“No, nothing like that. Actually it was kind of cute.” Cecile said.

“Cute?” Beverly asked.

Cecile nodded. “Yeah, it looked like a ball of cotton or fluff or something.”

“A ball of fluff? That doesn’t sound like a monster.” Beverly said.

“I don’t think they were … but that doesn’t explain why the guard dogs started chasing after them.”

“Hmmm..” Beverly leaned on her shovel in though. “Maybe it can hide it’s claws and fangs and stuff.”

“Why would they hide them?” Cecile asked.

“Probably because they thought the guard dogs wouldn’t hurt ‘em if they didn’t threaten you.” Beverly shrugged before she started digging again. “Guard dogs don’t take too kindly to any of us getting hurt.”

“Is … is that really true?” Cecile asked, her voice low.

Beverly looked over and frowned. “I’m sorry Cecile … I ..I shouldn’t have brought it up ...”

“No, it’s … it’s okay Beverly .. .it just made me …. think about if they really are protecting us or not.”

Beverly pulled Cecile into a tight hug. “Of course they are! The one who hurt you was a bad guard dog. The others aren’t like that … The Grand Emperor made them to protect us … and they do … okay,Cecile?”

“Okay ..” Cecile said, her eyes wandering back to the guard dogs before she started digging again.

  
  
  


“Bye Cecile! See you tomorrow!” Beverly waved as she left the crater.

“Bye Beverly.” Cecile said before turning towards Rover. “Just one more hour and then we can head to the archives! Maybe then we’ll be able to find out what Fluff Ball really is!”

Rover seemed kind of anxious, but he forced a smile and nodded before showing the countdown timer on his chest.

Cecile looked over to the guard dogs who hesitated near the elevator. One of them stuck his head and looked around, most likely making sure that another creature didn’t tumble down the shaft again.

When they were sure it was clear, they boarded on and headed to the surface.

“I wonder if we’ll ever see Fluff Ball again.” Cecile asked Rover. 

Rover shrugged, hoping that Cecile would drop it, especially with the other two robot guards still standing a few feet away.

“I still can’t believe I saw a surface creature up so close.” She said. “It was … amazing …”

Rover nodded, his eyes darting over to the robo dogs to make sure they weren’t listening. They both sat there, just staring forward, not seeming to give them any mind.

“I just wonder what else is up there …” Cecile daydreamed about the surface as she dug.

Before she knew it, the timer beeped. Cecile excitedly got out of the crater and grabbed Rover. “Come on, let's go!”


	15. Chapter 15

“Well  here we are.” Cecile said, standing in front of the Metro Archives. She turned to Rover. “You ready to go in?”

Rover nodded hesitantly before following her in.

At the front desk took an elderly librarian with disheveled whitish-gray hair. She looked up and smiled gently. “Hello deary. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”

Cecile wondered if she should mention the surface or if she’d get in trouble for asking about it. Instead she shook her head. “No. I just want to look around … if that’s okay.”

“Of course my dear. Feel free to spend as much time as you want here ….” She looked at Rover and smiled more. “... Both of you!

“Thank you.” Cecile said, heading over to a random bookshelf and scanning the books. The shelves weren’t that well maintained, filled with grime, and cracked on many of the shelves.

The books themselves were general topics such as:  _ Digging Tips To Up Your Digging Game! You and Your Shovel: A Companionship For A Lifetime, Shovel Cleaning Shine Up Tips! _

Eventually one book caught Cecile’s eye  _ Creatures Of The Surface: The Dangerous World Above Metro. _

Cecile grabbed it right away and sat down in front of the shelf, showing the dust covered book to Rover. “This is perfect!”

Rover sniffed the book and sneezed.

Cecile giggled and opened the book.

_ Metro is an ever growing, sprawling underground civilization. Founded in 2809, Metro started above land …. However this was only temporary. Soon the founders realized that above the surface was full of various monsters and other dangerous creatures. Their leader, the first Grand Emperor instructed them to move underground for their protection. He then built an army of robotic guards to fight off any monsters from the surface and keep them away from Metro and it’s citizens. These are a majority of the creatures that these brave canines face off against every day to protect us all. Mind you, this is not an exhaustive list, as it is unknown how many of the beasts roam above us, but it is as accurate as possible at this time of publication, 2899. _

Cecile flipped through the pages full of illustrations of the creatures. Ones with big, bulging eyes, sharp claws, and snarling faces.    
  


“There’s gotta be something about Fluff Ball in here …” Cecile muttered under her breath. “There’s just gotta be …”

Rover whimpered as he rested his head in her lap. Cecile pet him slightly before flipping through the pages again. “It’s okay ….it’s gotta be in here somewhere ...why wouldn’t it be? They’re not just gonna ignore something that  _ doesn’t  _ look like a monster in a sea of creatures that look like ...this!”

She flipped the book up to show Rover a picture of a blue spotted purple monster with almost knife like teeth.

Rover yelped as he tumbled back.

Cecile giggled and kept looking. As she neared the end she frowned. “I can’t find Fluff Ball in here. How could they forget them?”

Rover shrugged and went back to Cecile’s side. She took up and put the book back on the shelf, and began scanning through the books again. “There’s gotta be something else here, there’s just gotta …”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Here’s one!  _ Creatures of Above: Revised Edition: 2999.  _ This one’s from last year, it  _ has  _ to have Fluff Ball in it!”

Cecile plopped down again, exhaled deeply and opened the book.

_ In the year 2808 a group of settlers founded Metro. Instead of wanting to settle on the surface which was full of many monstrous creatures, taking the advice of Grand Emperor The First, they burrowed down into the center of the planet and instead lived there.  _

“Is that what the last book said?” Cecile asked aloud. “I mean this is the newer one, so maybe this one is the one that’s right? …. That makes sense, right Rover?”

Rover thought for a second then nodded a bit hesitantly. 

“We’ll know for sure if Fluff Ball is in here.” Cecile said before exhaling. “All right … here we go …”

She flipped through pages of more horrifying creatures and frowned, before turning over to Rover. “Hey, you know what’s funny? None of the monsters from the other book were in here, and none of these monsters were in that book!”

Rover looked at the book skeptical and nudged it with his foot before letting out a small growl.

“Maybe all the other monsters from 2899 went extinct?” Cecile asked aloud. “What if these ones were newly discovered? Or they evolved from the older ones.”

Cecile stood up and put the book back. “Maybe Fluff Balls didn’t even exist until a few days ago …” She looked down at her feet. “You ready to go back to the Designated Family Unit?”

Rover nodded and followed her to the front of the archives.

“You find everything you needed, deary?” The librarian asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Cecile said.

“Come back any time.”

_ What’s the surface  _ **_really_ ** _ like? _


	16. Chapter 16

“Happy birthday, Cecile!” Beverly and Chuck both called out.

Cecile and Rover both paused in front of the entrance to their Designated Family Unit. A smile spread across her face as it sunk in.

She ran over and embraced her brother and her best friend tightly.

“How does it feel to be eight, kiddo?” Chuck teased.

Cecile giggled. “About the same as being seven I guess.”

“I still have three whole months until I’m eight.” Beverly pouted.

“Don’t worry about it.” Cecile said. “It’s not that big of a deal right? Eight year olds are still part of the  _ Junior Digging Brigade _ and all.”

“But now you one have  _ two  _ more years until you’re ten!” Beverly said excitedly.

“How come you’re acting like two years is a lot less time than three months?” Cecile said, jokingly.

Beverly rolled her eyes. “Nooo, that’s not the point! The point is now you only have to wait two years now, and I have to wait two years  _ and  _ three months! I want my bismuth shovel sooner!”

“What happened to wanting to keep your shovel forever?” Cecile laughed.

“Oh, come now Cecile! That was a whole year ago! … I’ve grown, I’ve changed, I’ve .. matured.” Beverly said.

“Oh right, how silly of me not to notice.” Cecile giggled.

“Soooo, you ready to open my present?” Beverly asked eagerly. 

“Oh, you got me a present?”

“Of course I did, silly!” Beverly said, shoving a box into her arm. “Open it! Open it!”

Cecile sat down and carefully opened the paper. Inside the box laid a thin metal guitar, it’s strings nearly invisible.

“My daddy made it just for you!” Beverly said.

“Thank you Beverly, this is amazing!” Cecile said, pulling it close to her chest. Her fingers caressed the strings as they let out a soft sound similar to a harp. “I love it.”

“I knew you would!”

“You wanna open mine next?” Chuck asked, handing her a much wider box.

“Thank you.” Cecile said.

“Don’t thank me yet, open it.”

Cecile pulled the lid off the box and looked inside. There was what looked like a light gray arm inside.

She looked at Chuck in confusion.

“It’s a bionic arm.” He explained. “It’s a prosthetic.”

“Oh!” Cecile said. “Thank you!”

“It’s your choice if you want it or not, I’m not going to force it on you.

“I do want it.” Cecile said, getting up and hugging Chuck. “Thank you.”

“No problem, squirt.” He said. “Now, who wants cake?”

  
  


Cecile sat in bed, her new guitar leaning against her bed. 

“Today was pretty good, wasn’t it Rover?” She asked.

Rover nodded as Cecile pulled him into a hug. He licked her cheek and pulled back, pulling something out of the compartment in his back. What emerged was a beautiful purple orchid.

“R … Rover … is … is this from the surface?” Cecile asked in awe.

Rover nodded and handed it to her.

“Thank you!” She said, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“I don’t know how you got this, but I love it!” She hugged even tighter.

Rover blushed and sheepishly stroked the back of his head.

Cecile opened her journal and taped the flower in. 

_ Dear Diary, _

_ This birthday has been great! I got a guitar from Beverly, a bionic arm from Chuck and ….. This from Rover! I don’t know what it is, but it’s so pretty  _ **_and_ ** _ it’s from the surface! Isn’t that amazing!? I just wish I knew what it was called …. And how it survived on the barren surface …. Maybe someday I’ll find out … _

Cecile sighed happily as she closed her journal and pulled Rover closer as she fell asleep.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

The  next day Cecile’s thoughts were still focused on her gifts from the other day, mainly the orchid from Rover.  _ Was it possible there was still plant life above the surface? Was there more of it? How did Rover get it? What even was it?  _

She idly looked around until her eyes landed on Beverly. She was digging intensely like usual, at the same pace of everyone else, besides Cecile who was averaging two inches an hour. Still in a daydreaming state, her eyes landed on Beverly’s shovel. 

There seemed to be an unusual texture on the shaft and the spade.

“Hey, what’s that on your shovel?” Cecile asked, curiously.

“Huh?” Beverly asked, stopping for a second and looking at her with her eyebrows furrowed, until her face suddenly lit up. “Oh! I carved some patterns on it, wanna see?”

“Oh, uh sure.” Cecile said.

She lifted her shovel, showing a group of interlocked squares. “Everyone’s carving patterns in their shovels now. It gives it personality, you know?”

“Oh, that’s really cool!” Cecile said. “I like yours.”

Beverly blushed. “ Thank you, I spent all of last night working on it … Oh! You should carve something in your shovel too!” 

“Okay uh … I’ll … I’ll think about it …..” Cecile said.

“What’s there to think about?” Beverly asked. “It’ll look super cool, Cecile!:”

“I mean, what would I even carve on it?” Cecile asked, sheepishly.

“Anything you want!” Beverly continued excitedly. “Stars, circles, hearts … anything that looks nice!”

“I’ll think about it.” Cecile said.

Beverly pulled her into a hug.

“Girls, you two aren’t getting distracted from your work, are you?” Miss Leader asked, lightly scowling.

“I … I …” Cecile squeaked out nervously, looking over to Rover for reassurance. “N … no I … I … I mean …”

“No, Miss Leader.” Beverly said. “I’m just showing Cecile a better technique to dig.”

“Is that so?” Miss Leader asked, raising her eyebrow slightly.

“Of course!” Beverly said. 

“I see …” She said, sounding a bit skeptical. “If you say so … just keep your mind on the dig. You wouldn’t want to disappoint The Grand Emperor, would you?”

The mention of The Grand Emperor made Beverly lose almost all of the color from her face, made Cecile shift uncomfortably, and Rover whimpered slightly.

Beverly’s voice faltered. “N .. .. no … of course not!” This came out as a squeak more than anything. “We’re digging, Miss Leader, we’re digging!”

“Good. Just be sure to keep it that way.” She huffed. “I would hate to see workers with such potential to make Metro even more marvelous, and not doing anything with said potential. I’m sure The Grand Emperor would feel the same way …”

She walked over, leaving Beverly, Cecile, and Rover with chills.

Cecile put her hand on Beverly’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

“Y .. yeah ..” She said, forcing a small smile. “Lets … lets just get back to work, okay?”

“Okay.” Cecile said, reassuringly, before digging the spade into the dirt.

“But, you should think about the carving, Cecile. I think you’ll have a lot of fun doing it.”

  
  
  


“Nice work today you lovely little things!” Miss Leader said. “You have made not only me, but The Grand Emperor proud as well! I will see you again bright and early tomorrow to continue our mission!”

The Junior Digging Brigade left the ever deepening crater and headed towards their parents waiting for them. 

“Bye Cecile!” Beverly said, now in a better mood than before.

“Bye Beverly.” Cecile said.

“Remember, think about the carving! You won’t regret it!” Beverly said before rushing over to her parents.

Cecile got out of the crater and started to head over to Chuck. Before she could get close enough for Chuck to see her, Rover gripped the bottom of her pants leg and pulled slightly.

“Huh? What’s wrong Rover?” Cecile asked.

He barked slightly and nudged his head towards the back wall. 

She looked over and saw the guard dogs all scuttling into the elevator and going up to the surface.

“The elevator? What about it?” Cecile asked.

He grabbed the pants leg again and pulled again.

“Okay, okay, we can go over there ... we just have to be …” She looked over to the crowd and made sure Chuck hadn’t noticed them yet. “.. quick …”

Cecile followed Rover over to the elevator. Rover sat down in front of the shaft and barked slightly.

Cecile tilted her head in confusion. “You … want me to in there?”

Rover’s eyes widened and he let out a yelp of year. He got on his hind legs, shaking his head and crossing his front legs into Xes.

“Oh. If you don’t want me to go in it, why’d you bring me over here?” Cecile asked.

Rover put his nose close to the bottom of the shaft and sniffed. Cecile looked over and saw the bottom of the elevator, filled with blades of grass, much similar to the ones in Cecile’s notebook. 

“Oh! Is this where you got that … that … purple plant thingy?” Cecile asked.

Rover nodded. 

“Thank you.” Cecile said, hugging him close. She stood back up and they headed over to Chuck.

“Hey Cecile, how was the dig today?” Chuck asked.

“It was normal.” Cecile said. “I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen anyone with carvings in their shovels?” Cecile asked.

“Carvings? Pffft!” Chuck laughed. “I haven’t seen anyone do that in  _ years _ ! What, did that trend come back?”

“I guess so.” Cecile shrugged. “Beverly said everyone else is, and said I should do it to.”

“Oh man! It  _ is  _ coming back!” He laughed more. “That was big when  _ I  _ was in The Junior Digging Brigade! My buddies all put these weird triangles and stuff all over their shovels! Aah, good times.”

“Did you ever do it?” Cecile asked. 

“Nah.” Chuck said. “I didn’t see the point of it.”

“Do you think I should?” Cecile asked.

  
Chuck shrugged. “Only if you want to. Trends like this come and go. Years ago people were painting their shovels, and before that they taped rocks to it. It’s up to you.”

They headed back to their Designated Family Unit and Cecile headed to her room. Once there, she opened her journal again and touched the flower taped onto the page. “I wonder if there’s more of these up there ... What do you think, Rover?”

Rover shrugged.

“I just wish I could know …”


	18. UPDATE

I will no longer be posting my story on here due to their [allowance of racist stories on the platform](https://nerdlingwrites.tumblr.com/post/623727055704621056/hey-remember-what-i-said-about-making-changes-to).[ I will only continue it on Fanfiction.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13532454/1/Drops-of-Metro-In-Her-Hair)

Thank your for understanding and do not let AO3 get away with doing this


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